


Earned It

by feentanz



Series: One Shots [27]
Category: Nikolai Series - Leigh Bardugo, The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: F/M, Smut, Sparring, Sword Fighting, honestly i dont know what this is exactly, jealous!nikolai tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:01:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22075141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feentanz/pseuds/feentanz
Summary: His lips were brushing across the shell of her ear. “Technically I bested you, Nazyalensky,” he whispered, his voice suddenly much darker than she had ever heard it. Zoya felt her breath hitch, and she made the mistake of lifting her chin, meeting his gaze. Her heartbeat was racing, now only partly from the adrenaline of the fight. “Keep telling yourself that, your Highness,” she muttered a response, suggestively lowering her gaze. Nikolai dropped the sword.
Relationships: Nikolai Lantsov/Zoya Nazyalensky
Series: One Shots [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/594364
Comments: 5
Kudos: 42





	Earned It

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ahoylantsov](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahoylantsov/gifts).



> This is for Ally, the handsome muse to my silk merchant xx

“That’s enough for today,” Juris declared, dropping his arms and the heavy broadsword with them. 

Zoya blew a strand of hair away from her face, narrowing her eyes at him. “We have only just started.”  
  
The dragon’s laugh rumbled. “ _You_ have only just started.” He hung his sword up on the wall. “And patience is a virtue you have yet to learn.” 

Zoya rolled her eyes in response, and yet the grin on her lips lingered. The one which only came out when she was training with Juris. 

Nikolai shifted, leaving his place next to the door as he watched the other man leave. “I didn’t know you had an interest for swords, Nazyalensky,” he commented, admiring the weapon Juris had left on the wall. It was finely made, blade gleaming in the dim light. 

Zoya raised a brow, straightening her back. The armor locking back into place. “I didn’t know you had one, either,” she returned the question. 

Nikolai picked the sword up from the wall, testing the weight in his hand. It felt oddly familiar. It had been a long time since he had been sparring, even as training. A king had no time for such things. “Believe it or not, I used to best everyone at the palace,” he replied in Zoya’s direction. “Just another thing on my long list of talents.” 

She snorted in response, turning her own sword in her hands. The gleam was back in her eyes. “Care to be beaten, your Highness?” 

Nikolai felt himself grinning, turning back towards her. Zoya was watching him attentively, her posture suddenly relaxed. He found himself faintly wishing that this was what they could always have. But apparently only Juris allowed his general to truly drop the armour. The thought alone soured his mood greatly. 

“Are you going to keep staring, your Highness?” Zoya remarked, lifting her own weapon with new impatience. 

Instead of replying, Nikolai attacked. Zoya brought her own sword up swiftly, but he did make her retreat a few steps. The blades clinked as they met, the singing echoing through the air. It was liberating. 

Zoya backed a few steps away, then attacked from the right. She lunged for his side but Nikolai was faster, already out of reach. The exhilaration was back on her face now, a grin lighting up her features. “Not bad,” she commented, using the second of distraction to bring her sword down on his. 

Nikolai reacted automatically, blocking her attack. He was stronger than Zoya, and yet her reactions were fast, almost too fast. _How much had Juris taught her in just two days?_ “The dragon taught you well,” he replied, lunging for her again but meeting only steel. 

Zoya danced out of reach, already breathless. She blew some hair out of her face. “Admit it, your Highness, you’re not as skilled at this as you always thought.” 

Nikolai huffed a laugh, swinging his sword towards her again. This time Zoya blocked the blow, but the force made her retreat a few steps. He was quick to follow up with another attack, and this time she wasn’t fast enough. Zoya moved sideways, almost bumping into the wall in the process. 

It was enough of a distraction for Nikolai to knock the blade from her hands, suddenly having her pinned against the wall just in front of him. “Skilled enough to take you, apparently,” he remarked, catching his breath for a moment. 

Zoya smirked, her blue eyes flashing. She was breathing unevenly, her chest rising and falling quickly. Her shirt was clinging to her body. “Is that so,” she purred, and then she was moving, suddenly behind him, and knocking his own sword from his hands. 

Zoya caught it mid air, the blade suddenly aimed at his own throat. 

Nikolai exhaled in surprise. “Impressive,” he remarked, glancing down at the sword and retreating a step, so it was his back against the wall. “Although not quite fair.”  
  
Zoya huffed, stepping closer, the sword still angled at him. “Who said anything about playing fair?” The grin was back on her lips, and for a moment she looked so beautiful that Nikolai had trouble breathing. “You shouldn’t let yourself get distracted, your Highness,” she added, voice dropping as she stopped right in front of him, batting her long lashes. 

Nikolai laughed in response, watching Zoya step away and pick up her own sword. “Again,” she announced, tossing his own weapon to him. She was already back in fighting position, a few strands of dark hair clinging to her face. She was positively glowing. 

Nikolai huffed, then got into position. 

Apparently she had managed to make him cranky. Nikolai was more frustrated now, his parries harder, his blows more skilled. Zoya had trouble blocking his attacks, her arms already aching from the heavy weapon. Without using her storm she had trouble keeping up, but she didn’t want to cheat this time. 

Nikolai’s next attack struck her by surprise, almost knocking her off balance. She retreated quickly, panting from the effort. “Trying to prove something, your Highness?” she commented, but her voice was more breathless than anticipated. 

The king flashed a grin, then lunged for her again. The sound of metal echoed through the room and this time Zoya couldn’t hold her ground. She backed away, right into the wall. 

She silently cursed Nikolai as she blocked another blow, and another one, but never getting the chance to actually attack herself. And yet, she couldn’t stop herself from grinning, from enjoying every second of this. 

Nikolai eventually ended her suffering, knocking the blade from her hands cleanly with one stroke. Zoya sank back against the wall, catching her breath. She laughed hoarsely as Nikolai approached, the sword this time angled at her own neck. “We’re even,” she remarked, glancing down at the blade. 

He huffed, stepping just a little bit closer. Zoya pressed herself tighter against the wall, feeling the cool metal against her hot skin. And then there was Nikolai, having her pinned against the wall. She could feel his breathing grazing the top of her cheekbone, just as he dropped his head. 

His lips were brushing across the shell of her ear. “Technically I bested you, Nazyalensky,” he whispered, his voice suddenly much darker than she had ever heard it. 

Zoya felt her breath hitch, and she made the mistake of lifting her chin, meeting his gaze. Her heartbeat was racing, now only partly from the adrenaline of the fight. “Keep telling yourself that, your Highness,” she muttered a response, suggestively lowering her gaze. 

Nikolai dropped the sword. 

His hands were suddenly on her chin, lifting her head, and then he was kissing her, kissing her like he was drowning and she was his only source of air. Zoya opened her lips under his, her hands automatically wrapping around his neck, drawing him even closer against herself. She released a breathless laugh as he picked her up by the waist, her legs wrapping around his torso as he pinned her back against the wall. It felt unreal, dreamlike. 

She didn’t even care that Juris was probably next door, that all the Saints could probably hear every bit of what was going on. They could all listen in if they wanted. 

Nikolai basically tore the shirt from her body, never letting go of her lips. His teeth tugged at her bottom lip, making Zoya gasp as she attempted to catch her breath. _This_ was even more exhilarating than sparring. 

Zoya peeled his shirt off in response, running her hands across the bare skin of his back, feeling his muscles move underneath her fingertips. She dropped her head back against the wall, allowing him better access to her throat, releasing a sigh as Nikolai's lips nipped at the sensitive skin. 

The rest of their clothes followed with sudden impatience and then he was sinking into her, and Zoya had to summon all self control she still had not to cry out. She dug her nails into Nikolai’s back almost violently, clinging to him as he rolled his hips against her body. His hot breath caressed her skin as he pressed his lips against the curve of her neck, shifting closer, keeping her pinned against himself. 

Zoya was panting, struggling to fill her lungs with air as she closed her eyes, head falling back, not able to keep herself together any longer. She could feel Nikolai grinning against her skin as he noticed, in response pushing just a little deeper, rolling his hips slower. She was going to kill him, eventually. 

His fingers dug deeper into her thighs with each thrust and she felt herself drifting closer to the edge, her entire skin feeling as if she had been lit on fire. 

Nikolai was kissing along the side of her neck, tracing her jawline, then suddenly returning to her lips. His tongue flicked against hers and then the entire world seemed to slow, Zoya clinging to Nikolai’s neck as she came to avoid falling apart. He was breathing equally heavy as he followed her over the edge, and when Zoya’s fingers brushed along his chest she could feel his heart racing. 

She needed a few seconds to regain any of her composure, not trusting herself to move just yet. She made sure to keep her eyes closed, head resting against the wall. Partly because of exhaustion, and partly because she suddenly couldn’t bring herself to meet Nikolai’s eyes. 

_What had they done._ Zoya forced herself to pull it together, loosening her grip on his shoulders as Nikolai gently set her down on the ground. Very unlike him, he was completely silent. 

Zoya was still breathing unevenly, which made everything even worse. She quickly reached for her shirt on the ground, turning away to hide from Nikolai’s looks. _He regretted it._ She knew he did. And yet… Hadn’t this been exactly what _she_ had wanted, all those times working together? 

Saints, she was such a fool. Zoya turned, at least properly dressed again. She cleared her throat, determined to push past the sudden chill between them. “I assume Elizaveta would want to see you today.” Probably the worst thing she could have said. 

Nikolai shot her a look which she couldn’t quite read. 

Just in the same moment as Juris stepped back into the room. Zoya tensed automatically. “I thought we were done for today.”

The dragon looked almost amused. “I thought the same,” he replied, and the implication was all too clear. 

If Zoya had a talent for modesty, she might have blushed. Instead she snorted, fluffing her hair over her shoulders, and picked up the sword. 

Nikolai looked unusually strained, jaw clenched tightly as he gazed from her to Juris. “I’ll leave you to it,” was all he said before turning away, and leaving without another look. 

Zoya stared after him, equally confused and surprised. 

“Your king is a jealous man,” Juris commented, stepping further into the room. 

Zoya gave him an irritated look. “What would he have to be jealous about?” 

The dragon laughed, and the sound rumbled through the room. “Your attention,” he replied, reaching for the twin axes strapped to the walls. 

And yet he hadn’t even looked at her properly, just a minute ago. Zoya brushed her hair back from her eyes. “Whatever you’re implying, stop it. I don’t need you prying into my life.” Or that of her king, for that matter. 

Juris huffed in response. Zoya remembered his words. _You cannot protect yourself from suffering._ She lifted her sword. _To live is to grieve._ The blade came down on Juris’, and this time blue flames accompanied her stroke. 

The dragon gave the faintest of smiles. But there was a knowing edge to his gaze which Zoya didn’t like at all. 

Like he had looked at Nikolai and her and seen something Zoya had missed. 


End file.
